


Not With Me

by withaflashoflove



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-06
Updated: 2016-12-06
Packaged: 2018-09-06 22:59:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 13,911
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8772745
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/withaflashoflove/pseuds/withaflashoflove
Summary: Barry and Iris kicking ass and investigating together with the help of some friends...





	1. Chapter 1

Mornings had become her favorite part of the day. No matter what day it was, whether it was a weekend or one of the work days, whether she could sleep in till its edge or whether she had to be up at its dawn, she loved it regardless.

She loved the quiet, the peace, the melodic whistling of the birds, the small breeze that made its way inside her bedroom through the slightly open window, the ethereal beam of the sun against her skin, the way the morning was all soft and no chaos, all serene and no intensity. 

Mostly, she loved waking up in Barry’s arms. That was the best part.

Because mornings with him were lazy. But a good kind of lazy. The kind of lazy that made her feel like the world ran slow, the world took its time to let her catch up and adjust. The kind of lazy that gave her a chance to catch her breath and reflect on the little things, like flowers and chocolate. The kind of lazy that made her feel really _really_ safe.

He made her feel safe. All the time. In a way she never knew she was missing. Like he was protecting her but not overbearingly so. Like he was a partner. 

And a friend. And a lover.

And on this Saturday morning, with his lips coming alive against the side of her neck, she knew the day would go by at a lethargic pace and they’d dance along through it because today was their day off. It was their day together. And she was glad it came, because she couldn’t get enough of her boyfriend. 

So she turns around as soon as his lips graze a particularly ticklish spot on her neck, and he uses that as leverage to pin her underneath him, before snaking his hands along her naked waist and leaning down to kiss the sweetness of her lips. 

Iris hums a mellifluous tune into his lips and her own hands come to wrap around his neck, pulling him closer to her, holding him tight, relishing in his warmth.

“Morning,” Barry says, between kisses.

She mutters a _hmmm_ , finding it pointless to talk and better to touch so she feels him all the way up and lets her tongue meander into his mouth while her fingers tickle the nape of his neck, which elicits a small moan from him.

And this was her kind of morning; the best kind of morning. Spending it with him, making out lazily in bed, giggling and laughing and nibbling like they had all the time in the world, like it was only the two of them, now and forever, and this was bliss.

Two months usually wasn’t long enough to give her an indication of whether a relationship was going to last. But this was Barry. Barry, the boy who loved her all his life, the boy who dropped everything the moment she needed him, the boy who loved her like no other had ever, the boy who told her she was everything to him and that she kept him going. And she knew that this was it for her. That he was it for her. That she never wanted to hold anyone else besides him. That he was the person she wanted to steal touches and kisses from for the rest of her life. That she wanted to wake up next to him everyday and fall asleep in his arms every night. And sometimes that scared her a lot, to realize the amount of love she had for him, but if the way his mouth moved along her skin was any indication of his feelings, she knew he felt the same way.

“Barry,” Iris breathes, pulling his head back up to her, stopping him from kissing little patterns along her stomach. 

He groans at the action, but that displeasure quickly gets replaced with a smile as soon as he meets her eyes.

“Too early?” he smirks. “Just a little,” she smiles.

Barry doesn’t say a word, only let his lips meet hers again.

He breaks their kiss to pull away and look at her again, and all of a sudden, she feels incredibly shy because he’s looking at her with piercing but soft eyes, like she’s his entire world, so she turns her head to bury it in the pillow, away from his gaze.

Sometimes it took her by surprise how emotional she got around him. “Stop doing that,” he whispers, propping himself up by the elbows.

Iris doesn’t answer, so Barry gently caresses her cheek, and she knows he’s waiting for her to turn back to face him.

“Iris…” he says again, and she feels his lips gingerly press down against her cheek.

Iris sighs into the pillow, hand coming to cover her eyes, which he tenderly pulls away. 

When he sees her eyes still shut, he nuzzles his nose into the crook of her neck, giving her some space.

So she takes a few more seconds of quiet before whispering “sorry.”

“No,” he shakes his head, coming up to meet her eyes again, “you don’t have to be sorry.” “It’s just a lot sometimes.”

“Me?"

“Not you,” she assures, hand coming to play with his hair, “this...us...sometimes, it throws me off guard.”

“Why?”

She looks at him with glistening eyes and ponders his question. And there were so many answers she wanted to give. _Because you’re perfect. Because we’re perfect together. Because I love you with all of me. Because you buy me flower displays that spell out my name and take me dancing in a place only we know. Because you smile so big every time you see me and it makes me smile no matter what mood I’m in. Because the sound of your voice and your arms around me are home. Because this love knocks the wind out of me sometimes. Because I’ve never felt so in love before, no one has ever made me feel this way. Because you’re my best friend. Because you’re my home. Because what if one day you’re not here and I have to wake up without you. Because I don’t ever want to lose you. Because sometimes I get scared...because I’m scared._

She doesn’t say any of that. Instead, she gives him a weak smile and he smiles back, offers her a tacit _I love you_ before resting his head on her chest.

And she knows she’ll have to tell him all of this one day. But today, she wasn’t ready. So instead, her hand rubs circles along his back and she dots kisses to the top of his head while her other hand grazes his cheek. 

Which is when the shrill of her phone jolts them both out of bed.

“It’s 7 a.m. on a Saturday,” Barry frowns against her chest, “who is it?” 

Iris reaches over for the device, grabs it and momentarily stares at the screen before hitting the green icon. “Linda.” 

“Iris!” Linda says as soon as the phone connects their call.

“Hey Li-”

“I am freaking the hell out! I don’t know what to do. How did they found my address? I’m going out of my mi-”

“Wait wait,” Iris says, sitting up in bed, trying to keep up with the reporter and Barry catches onto her worry, “slow down, what’s going on?”

Linda lets out a deep exhale, continuing to pace back and forth in her living room, letter clutched in her hand. “I think someone’s blackmailing me.”

“What?”

“I don’t know. I don’t know,” Linda stutters, “I just got in, I was out with a few friends last night. And when I got to the door, there was a letter hung on its frame. Iris this person knows my name, my number, my address, where I work…”

She stops, much to Iris’s continued worry.

“What else Lin?” Iris questions, brows furrowing together.

“I can’t do this over the phone. Can we meet somewhere?”

Iris locks eyes with Barry, giving him an affirmative nod, “Barry will come pick you up right now and bring you over.”

“Okay.” 

“Okay.” Iris concludes before hanging up. She turns to her boyfriend who has a look of confusion and panic on his face. “Just stall long enough so I can put clothes on,” she adds. 

“Noted,” Barry answers, pecking her lips before speeding out of the room.

_So much for my lazy Saturday,_ Iris thinks, promptly rushing out of bed in search of her bra and shirt.

* * *

 

Barry and Iris read the letter a few times over before finally setting it down and looking at Linda. She’d managed to sit on the couch longer than 3 minutes, thanks to the coffee, which Iris was sure was calming her shaking hands and nerves, despite Barry’s insistence not to let Linda drink it, because _she doesn’t need a stimulant, Iris._

Iris walks over to Linda, taking a seat next to her, rubbing her back in attempts to mollify her worries.

“So, you found it this morning?” Barry questions, still standing, letter in his hand.

“Yeah.” Linda answers, the mug nearly falling out of her grip. Iris hurriedly takes it out of her hand and places it back on the table, before continuing to rub circles along her back. “It has to be someone from CCPN. That’s all I know.”

“Why?” he asks. 

“Because no one else knows my doppelgänger is Dr. Light, unless they were watching or at CCPN the night she attacked. And this person purposely added that in there, saying that they knew about different earths and that they knew I had some connection to metahumans.”

“Are you sure they’re not bluffing?” Iris offers.

“I don’t think so. I mean, this isn’t the first incident; I’ve been getting these weird calls lately, sometimes as late as 4 a.m. It’s always the same three rings. I answered it once, but all I heard was silence.”

“Linda, why didn’t you tell us about this sooner?” Barry looks at her, now concern really intensifying.

She shakes her head. “Because I thought it was some joke or somebody had gotten my number by accident. Then yesterday, before leaving CCPN, I found this random picture of me, Dr. Light and Iris on my desk, from the night of the attack. Before you and” - Linda looks over to Iris who gives her a gentle nod - “you and Patty came to see us.” 

Barry notices that little interaction between them and he can’t help but wonder if Linda knew something about Iris’s feelings that he didn’t. But he quickly pushes those thoughts aside for later and goes back to concentrating on Linda’s explanation.

“Anyway,” she continues, “I freaked out a bit, wondering how it got there, but I just kept it with me, figured I’d worry about it in the morning. And then I came home, and I saw that” - she gestures to Barry’s hand holding the letter - “on my door. I just don’t know why I’d be of concern to anyone.”

 “Linda,” Iris looks at her, tenderness in her eyes, “do you remember when the calls started?” “Maybe a week ago? It was after I was covering the local basketball game for the women’s team.” “The one they didn’t end up playing?” Barry interjects.

“That’s the one,” she nods, “they staged a sit-in to protest the government’s lack of action of the pollution of the local river. It wasn’t really my territory given there was no game, but I was the only reporter on the spot because no one thought they’d take a stance and blow off the game that night.”

“And you haven’t exactly been quiet about your thoughts on this government’s environmental inattentiveness,” Iris shakes her head. 

“I don’t think I’ve said anything in public, though. I’ve talked to you about it. Definitely have had conversations about it with people at CCPN. Which is why it makes sense that the person is an insider.” 

“Yeah but that still doesn't add up,” Barry says, trying to piece together the puzzle, “why would someone be after you, threatening to expose you because of some protest?”

Suddenly, realization dawns on Iris’s face and she stands up abruptly, panic setting in.

Both Barry and Linda watch her pace back and forth before she comes to a stop midway between the two. “Barry’s been actively trying to clean the river.”

“Yeah,” Barry adds, “that’s where the lack of funding has been hitting the hardest and I know a lot of families depend on that for their water source, so I’ve been doing what I can.”

Linda stares at Iris, the dots connecting for her as well. “And what if this person knows my involvement with The Flash...?”

“ _Shit_ ,” Iris hisses, “if that’s the case, then he or she...or they... might use you as leverage to sway the election coming up.”

 “Wait a minute,” Barry interrupts, eyes alternating between Iris and Linda, “I need you two to slow down a bit.”

“Barry,” Iris whispers, “the election. It's coming up in a few months. And the mayor of the city has close ties with the governor.

There's been a campaign to indict him, but to no avail. And the federal government isn't getting involved because they don't have jurisdiction over a state issue. Which means -”

“- that locals have the power to influence which way the election sways. And if we get a new government in place - which we most likely will, given public approval rating for the current one is at an all time low - then the policies either get better or worse,” Linda adds.

“Right,” Barry answers, processing the information, “but why would the linchpin be Central City?”

“Because CCPN broke the news!” Linda shouts, “and Iris was the lead reporter on that case!”

“Yeah,” Iris nods, “I broke the story a few months back when I began noticing a lack of funds for environmental efforts. I didn’t think it was going to be a huge scandal that involved our mayor and the governor. But there was evidence that they weren’t following proper protocol for water purification; not only that, they were letting big factories pollute more than the limits the federal government instilled -”

“-ahh, and those are binding,” Barry concludes.

“Exactly. So a team and I basically unravelled the entire story.”

“I remember,” the CSI nods, “you had me test the water to see if levels of microorganisms, chemicals and toxic wastes were imbalanced.” 

“Yep, and when I got the yes from you, that was the last piece of evidence we needed.

So I published the article, which garnered a lot of attention, but unfortunately, we haven't been getting a proper response from the federal government. Plus given how many ties those factories have to corporations and big businesses, I doubt anything will come from it. But it did spur a huge

local campaign to force the mayor into resignation. He hasn’t resigned yet but a lot of insiders think he’s not running for reelection.” 

“But the guy who’ll take his spot will just continue the same policies,” Barry adds, which garners another nod from Iris.

The three sit in silence for a few minutes, recapping what transpired. Linda was getting blackmailed, and they were all pretty certain it was an insider at CCPN, probably a snitch. This person was using her involvement with The Flash as leverage against her, threatening to expose his identity. Which meant that he or she - or they - was probably someone also working for the mayoral campaign who was designated to be ensure that media comply without fueling efforts of local protestors to stymie the campaign. 

“...so,” Linda whispers, shifting their attention back to her after the long pause, “why go after me now? I mean, Iris, you broke the story a month ago. Why would I be the target?”

“Because you were the reporter at the scene of the basketball protest,” Barry interposes, “and that’s what reignited the anger. The news has been covering nothing other than that for the past week. Maybe whoever’s going after you feels cornered? And maybe they’re mad because you brought the spotlight back on this?”

“I was thinking the same thing,” Iris sighs, locking eyes with her boyfriend. She broke the story and her best friend was suffering the consequences. And this whole thing made her wish she could curl up in bed again and restart this entire day.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has allusions to a panic attack, so please be mindful of your own mental health before/when reading it.

“You okay?” Iris asks, coming to sit on the counter next to Linda. It was their ritual - whenever one would visit the other, the kitchen counter was their hideout and they didn’t leave for hours on end. Really they had no reason to, not with the fridge at arm’s-length.

Unfortunately this wasn’t exactly the best reason for them hanging out, not with Iris feeling quite guilty and Linda being uncannily quiet ever since Barry left them alone. 

“I’m okay,” Linda says, rubbing her arm, avoiding Iris’s gaze.

If it’s one thing about Linda Park that Iris had learned, it’s to never push. And she figured the reporter would come around. So instead, she decides to lighten up the mood asking, “well then, wanna tell me why you weren’t home last night?” 

And that elicits a small laugh from Linda who grins mischievously. “You know why.” “Ahh,” Iris smiles, “but I don’t know _context_.”

“Context huh?” Linda asks, turning to face Iris.

Iris raises her eyebrows, patiently awaiting the explanation. “He’s no one.”

“No one?” 

“Well,” Linda clarifies, “someone. But he was just a hookup.” “So no chemistry?”

“Ehh, not so much that. There was plenty of chemistry. But aside from his sharp jawline and hazel eyes, the rest of him was pretty...” - she waves her hand haphazardly - “obtuse.”

“As in..?” Iris questions. 

“Not witty. Kinda aggressive, inconveniently so. But the sex was good, so it was worthwhile.” “I mean it must’ve been, given you spent the night.”

“Even I need a little bit of quiet and slow sometimes,” Linda avers.

“I could set you up,” Iris offers, half-joking, half-serious, but Linda quickly shakes her head, suspending any thoughts.

“I’m happily single, believe me. You’re happily married. I get it.”

“I am not married!”

“Okay have you seen how disgustingly cute you and Barry are? You’re _so_ married.”

Iris goes to say something, but Linda quickly cuts her off. “It’s not a bad thing. You’re in love. Embrace it.”

So instead, Iris sighs, hands coming to cover her face.

And if it’s one thing Linda knew about Iris, it’s that she didn’t hide her face unless particularly uncomfortable, so she waits a few seconds and when Iris still doesn’t reply, Linda says, “I feel very out of my shell." 

Iris’s hands still, knowing that the conversation had changed. “How so?”

“It’s just weird. Someone’s after me. Like someone’s taking time out of their life to target me.” “...you’re scared?”

“I’m upset. A bit peeved. Kinda wanna kick this person’s ass. Don’t know if I’m scared yet, though.”

“Lin,” Iris replies, this time setting her hand on her friend’s thigh, “we’ll figure this out. I’m sure Cisco will manage to decode something from that letter. And Barry’s running fingerprint analysis right now, so hopefully we’ll catch a lead.”

“I’m not worried,” Linda remedies, putting her hand on top of Iris’s, “I’m just annoyed. It’s seriously invasive to track my address. And my number. _And_ personal details. Like what the hell?”

“No kidding.”

“And on a Saturday morning of all days? This person’s got some nerve.” Iris shakes her head with amusement. “Only you Linda.”

Just then, the two feel a gust of wind followed by Barry’s arrival. “Okay back!”

He’d left them about an hour ago, running to CCPD to his lab in attempts of retrieving some fingerprint information. And then he ran to Cisco to get the engineer’s insight. 

“Any luck?” Iris asks, dropping from the counter to kiss his cheek, and Linda stares on with an unequivocal look, rolling her eyes at the gesture, which doesn’t go unnoticed by Iris.

“Cisco couldn’t figure out anything from the letter itself,” Barry answers, arm wrapping around his girlfriend’s waist, “but I was able to pull a fingerprint and it belongs to one Jackson Armek.”

 “THE INTERN?!” Iris and Linda both shout, which causes Barry to jump away in surprise, not expecting the bombastic reaction. 

“I knew he was too old to be there!” Iris exclaims, both hands coming to rest on her hips.

“You know him?” Barry asks.

“Know him? He’s been working at CCPN for the past month, but he’s old enough to be head of the place.” 

“Just the other day, Iris and I were wondering why a 50 year old dude was bringing us coffee,” Linda adds.

“Wait I don’t understand. How did his age not set off your boss?”

“Because,” Iris says, “he isn’t an intern _intern_. Apparently, he’s part of an upcoming program meant to give students and others insight into journalism. He said he wanted to run a similar program in a different city so he wanted to strike up a partnership with Picture News. But he was set on ‘getting a feel’ for the place the old-fashioned way.” 

Linda nods her head, dropping from the counter as well. “Yep. He wanted no shortcuts, wanted to see how all the reporters worked, basically asked to just lounge around and be our little server.”

“And this week was his last week,” Iris huffs, mad at herself for not connecting his involvement sooner. “Linda how did we miss this?”

“I don’t know. He seemed sketchy from the start.”

Barry stares at them for a while longer, now even more curious about the revelations. A few more seconds pass before he offers, “well at least we can stop him now,” with hints of relief on his face.

But Iris only shakes her head. “That doesn’t make sense.” “What do you mean?”

“Barry, one time this guy accidently spilled sugar on the table and wasn’t satisfied until every last grain was wiped clean, like squeaky clean.” 

“Annoyingly clean,” Linda chimes in, “he’s excessively pedantic. He doesn’t strike me as the type of guy to make a mistake like leaving his fingerprint.”

Iris nods her head, but Barry feels a bit out of the loop, still looking for a silver lining. “Maybe it was an accident?”

“No,” Iris shakes her head, the psychology major in her coming out, “there’s no way in hell he’d slip up like that, not the way he was at CCPN. He did everything to the dot, was always at work at 9 a.m. and always gone at 5 p.m. He never missed a beat, knew every single story being covered, questioned us to the detail about our ‘writing style’ and ‘methods’.”

The journalists still with silence and Barry looks on, waiting for them to take the next step. They knew a lot more about this Armek guy than he did, and both Iris and Linda were direct targets, which meant it was their call. He braces himself for what he assumes will be the next question, because suddenly he had an answer he didn’t want to share.

Linda clears her throat and stares at Barry, a severe sharpness in her glare, which he knew wasn’t intended for him, but felt it all the same. “Did you happen to get his address?”

_There it is._

Barry shuffles his feet. “Yes and no,” he sighs, “Cisco managed to track an address, but when I ran to the place, it was empty with no signs of anyone living there.. So I came back and Cisco dug up some more information; apparently the property’s been vacant for the past year, which means he’s been living somewhere else.” 

Iris looks on, giving him a little nod to continue.

“Anyway, Cisco tried pulling up anything more recent on him, but to no avail.”

“Barry,” Linda asks, now with a bit of hesitation in her voice, which he wasn’t accustomed to, “where was his old house?”

Barry squirms in place. He takes a deep breath and mutters _Coast City_ on the exhale. And that’s when Linda freezes, eyes shutting tight, breath racing.

Iris watches her best friend’s face manifest contrition, fear, apprehension and anger in the span of five seconds and she feels her own heart rate quicken, realizing maybe there was more to this than just random calls and letters.

She steadies her voice. “Linda.”

Linda keeps her eyes shut, fists clenching and Iris knows that’s a tell of flashbacks to the night Zoom took her. So she minces over to Linda and stands nearby, not too close but close enough to rub gentle circles along her back, waits for her breathing to level out, waits for the shaking to stop, whispers calming words of reassurance and keeps her own breathing at a steady pace, hoping that’ll help.

Barry watches on with a cup of water in hand, attentively staring at Iris.

A few minutes of silence agonizingly stretch on, with the only sound coming from the erratic drip of the faucet and the ticking of their respective watches.

Barry stays in place as Linda’s breathing levels out, watches as Iris leads her to the couch and follows behind, cautiously avoiding any abrupt motion.

“I’m okay,” Linda reassures, but the breathy voice and the still-shaking hands contrast her words, so Iris sits next to her, this time holding both her hands in hers. She stares up at Barry, who’s still standing awkwardly next to the table, unsure if he should stay and say something or give them some privacy.

Iris gives him a gentle nod, notioning for him to leave, which he respectfully obeys, quietly heading back to their bedroom, leaving them alone for the time being. 

* * *

 

“Is she okay?”

“She’s okay.” Iris says, making her way inside the bedroom, gingerly closing the door behind her. “I think the combination of lack of sleep, a hangover and all of this overwhelmed her.”

Barry nods to himself, fingers twiddling with each other as he watches Iris come sit next to him on the bed.

“She’s asleep now.” “Really?” he asks.

“Yeah. She seemed pretty exhausted, and I don’t think she wanted to talk about this anymore."

“When will you wake her up?”

 “Couple of hours.” Iris responds, laying her head on Barry’s shoulder. “Maybe in time for dinner.”

 They sit in silence for a while before Barry pulls her into him and shifts them both so they’re leaning against the header, fully on the bed.

“You don’t think it’s a coincidence do you?” he questions.

“What?”

“That this guy has links to Coast City.”

“No,” Iris shakes her head, “I don’t think any of this is a coincidence. Not the timing nor targeting Linda nor the fingerprint nor Cisco tracing him to Coast City nor the fact that he left CCPN just yesterday.

I think everything he’s been doing is intentional.”

“Me too,” Barry agrees, now wrapping an arm around her shoulder and pulling her tightly into his body.

“I don’t like it,” Iris sighs, “Linda shouldn’t be the one dealing with this. It should be me.”

“No it shouldn’t. It shouldn’t be you and it shouldn’t be her. You two are reporters. You don’t deserve to be targeted by maniacs for the news you bring to the public eye.”

She sighs again, leans her head into his chest and wraps both arms around his waist. “Hey,” Barry rubs her arm softly, “we’ll find him, I promise.”

“How?” 

“We know who he is,” Barry replies, this time with confidence, “and we have an old address. And we know motive. I mean, if you and Linda are right, then this guy’s doing all of this just in time for the upcoming election. Which means he has to have ties to this current mayor. And I’m sure there’s a paper trail, no matter how pedantic he is. I can get Cisco to do some more digging tomorrow.” 

He stills for a second, a new thought coming to mind, one he’d completely overlooked before. “Iris, do you remember where you were the day of the basketball game?”

She shifts positions, eyes locking with his.

“Umm, I think it happened last Thursday. At 2 or so...” “...so you were in CCPN, right?”

“Yeah, I was,” Iris remembers, “I was working on another story. I had a big interview but before I left, the newsroom erupted because of the protest. All the reporters stopped to watch the TV.”

“That’s when Linda was reporting.” “Exactly.”

She sits up immediately, replaying the events that happened afterwards. “Linda was doing a pregame interview with the star of the team. And she asked something about the expectations and emotions going into the game -”

“- because it was the last game before the finals,” Barry concludes.

“Mhm. Which significantly upped the stakes. But that’s when she told Linda they weren’t gonna be playing. That there were more important things than a game. That they couldn’t defend a city that didn’t stand up for its civilians.” 

“Okay. Where was Armek during this whole thing?”

Iris shuts her eyes, sifts through the million things that were going on. She remembers the buzz from all the noise, before a sharp decline as phone calls ended and people stilled in place. She remembers her editor calling out for everyone’s attention to the TV. She remembers a co-worker dropping down into a chair next to her, the TV booming with volume and his pen scratching away at the paper, hastily jotting down notes. She remembers checking her watch, thinking she had to leave in order to make it to her interview in time or else she would have to reschedule, especially with city traffic.

But something stopped her from bolting out of there.

“He was sitting at Linda’s desk!” Iris all but shouts, staring at Barry. “Okay okay. Why?”

“I don’t know,” she shakes her head with frustration, “I know I noticed and I know I found it suspicious but everything was so busy and everyone was in places they wouldn’t normally be at so I didn’t pay it much attention. And I was already in a rush because I needed to leave, but it was a little suspect because when I was heading out the door, I could see her laptop on, so I lingered on him for a little while. And he wasn’t looking at it, but maybe that was just because he was waiting for me to leave.”

“Was the laptop his focus, or was it something else at her desk?” Barry questions, still staring at her with keen focus.

“I don’t know. I don’t know…

It could’ve been either? But Linda’s been sitting there all week so I’m sure she would’ve noticed something by now.” 

“Iris,” Barry exclaims, standing up, “we have to get to CCPN. We have to right now. The longer we wait, the more time this guy has on us.”

She remains in place. “We can’t go without Linda.”

“Why not?” he protests, “we have to check and it’d be a perfect time for her to rest!” 

“No,” Iris answers emphatically, “I’m not leaving her alone. And this directly affects her; she needs to be involved with every decision.”

Iris can see Barry’s frustration but she appreciates the way he internalizes it, keeps to himself for a few moments before nodding his head with resignation.

“Fine,” he sighs, “so we just wait?”

She reaches for him and pulls him back down to the bed. “We wait till she wakes up. We make dinner. We tell Cisco to come over. Then we’ll see what happens.”

“Okay.”


	3. Chapter 3

The next day, early in the afternoon, the four of them make their way to CCPN, newsroom quiet with the lack of reporters, given it was Sunday. They all search around in their respective areas upon arrival, wrapped up in their own challenges, until Cisco finally catches a break.

“I think I found something.”

He stares at the underside of Linda’s desk, hand grazing over what seems to be a small black mic, no larger than the tip of his pinky figure. He slowly detaches it from place, careful not to crush it in his grip. 

Barry walks over to him, puts one hand on his shoulder as he pulls up the engineer with his other hand. “I hope it's turned off.” 

“Me too,” Cisco responds, still examining the small gadget, twirling it around between his fingers.

Immediately after, the two hear a loud groan from Iris followed by a loud _THUD_ as the weight of a something heavy smashes against a surface. They turn to face her, finding the computer keyboard thrown haphazardly on the ground and Iris frustratedly cursing her luck.

“What's wrong?” Linda calls out from the break room.

“My notes are gone. All my notes” - she waves her hands around, face scrunching tight as she plummets in the chair - “they're all fucking gone. How the hell did he get access to my desktop?!”

“Shit.” Linda runs back to where the three of them are, with both Barry and Cisco huddled around Iris.

“And he had a mic hooked up to my desk?” Linda asks, in disbelief.

“Seems so,” Cisco says, staring at Iris, “and looks like he found what he wanted.” 

Barry watches the three in silence. Iris looked furious, like she was about ready to tackle this guy to the ground the moment she saw him; Linda, on the other hand, looked more shocked than anything else and Cisco had casually put a hand on her back, his face nebulously expressing sadness mixed with something else.

“Iris,” Barry says, “what did he take?”

“All my research on the mayor, all the data you and I collected, and basically everything that had to do with the river pollution and the case,” she groans, shoving the mouse aside.

“Can you recover them?”

“Yeah that’s not the problem; everything’s backed up on my laptop,” she says, “I just don’t know how the hell he got into my computer. He didn’t have access to any of the security codes and these files were password protected. And I didn’t tell anyone the password.”

“He could’ve hacked in,” Cisco answers, “if he has any computer science background, which it seems like he does, he could’ve just found a way inside.”

“Which means he was more than capable of breaking through CCPN security,” Linda says.

Iris perks up. “Wait maybe we can get the camera footage?” 

“That won’t help though,” Barry interjects, “you two know what he looks like. I mean, if anything it just gives us evidence against him. But we need to find him first.” He stalls for a minute before adding, “Linda maybe that’s how he got that picture of you, Dr. Light and Iris?”

Linda looks at him. “Why would that be the reason?”

“I mean, if he can hack into your security system, it means he has access to the entire place. Which means all the computers, all the files and even the camera footage. Maybe he pulled something off old footage of you from that night?” 

“Yeah but why would he do that? Like it seems like he’s been targeting me, not just for this story, but for some other reason.”

“That’s true,” Iris chimes in, “why else would he have a connection to Coast City?” “Okay hold up!”

Cisco stands in the middle of the group, mic still firmly clenched in his hand. He uses his other hand to signal to it. “This mic isn’t sold in every store. This is made exclusively by only specific shops.”

“How do you know that?” Iris asks. 

“Because STAR Labs has these same ones,” he clarifies, “and we went out of our way to find them. Which means I might be able to track where this was purchased from. Maybe if we can find the shop, we can get some more answers?”

“Yeah!” Barry jumps in, desperate for any lead, “that sounds like a good plan!” “Okay. Barry I need you to get me to STAR Labs.”

“We’ll stay here,” Linda says, pointing between Iris and herself, “we should see if we can pull from anything else.”

“Yeah,” Iris adds, “I need to sift through the files to see what else is gone.” “Okay.”

Barry makes his way over to his girlfriend, gives her a quick kiss and hug before he and Cisco disappear.

And even with all the stress and urgency of the day, Linda can’t help but smile because no matter how hard Iris tried to mask her happiness from Barry’s kiss and stay focused, it was so obvious that she was so in love.

Iris glares at Linda. “Not a word.”

* * *

 

Cisco managed to trace the mic back to a small electronic shop located on the outskirts of Central City. Apparently, he’d seen a replica of the mic - which he learned when he dug through old purchases STAR Labs made - and only one shop matched the exact design of the mic he found wired to Linda’s desk.

Barry and Cisco came back to CCPN about 30 minutes after they left Iris and Linda, only to find the two women digging through a stack of papers.

There were papers everywhere.

They spanned the floor, were draped across three desks, occupied about five chairs and the entirety of the newsroom was covered with chaos.

“What’s going on here?” Barry asks, cautious to avoid stepping on anything. “Damn y’all,” Cisco adds, staring at the mess, “even my desk doesn’t get this bad.”

“This is it!!” Iris exclaims, grabbing one page and putting it next to another, the sequence stretching on for about 20 pages. 

“This is what…?” 

“Evidence,” Linda says, “that this dude is a fraud and a phoney and a liar and worthy of hell.” Cisco cocks his head. “There are requirements for hell?”

“He was so lying,” Linda continues, ignoring the snide remark, coming to a stand, “he has no plans to do shit with that volunteer journalism project or whatever.” 

“Wait how do you know?” Barry asks.

“It’s not in any of the listings,” Iris grins, holding one page in her hand before standing as well, “there are no business ventures of anything like this in any of the databases. And if there are plans to start a new organization, you have to run it through the city council. And all that information is made available to the public -”

“- but you can’t find anything,” Barry replies. “Exactly.”

“But we did find something else.” Linda stares at Cisco. “There was a similar project to the one he proposed. Except that one took place in Coast City.”

She hears an audible gasp from Cisco and Barry. 

“Not only that,” Linda continues,” but it was shut down on basis of conspiracy. Apparently, they were abusing the partnership with the local newsroom to get access to their records and sensitive information.”

“Like what?” Barry asks. 

“Like access to interviews with politicians, especially those involved with environmental activism or that were on any sort of environmental committee. And apparently, it was an insider who broke the news of what this organization was doing, and she ended up exposing them to one of the reporters.” 

“Who took the fall?” Cisco inquires.

“See that’s where it gets interesting,” Iris continues, “his name is Marcs K. Nojaek. And if it sounds unusual, it’s because it is. Linda and I have been jumbling around these letters for the past hour and what do you know?”

“They rearrange to Jackson Armek,” Barry interrupts, suddenly figuring it out. 

“I don’t think that’s his real name at all,” Linda adds, “but it’s the only name we have. And if the letters aren’t a coincidence, then this is the same guy. Which means he’s definitely done this before and there has to be something in it for him, since he’s attempting it again.”

“And I’m betting he’s working hand in hand with some corrupt politicians who are looking to cut money from a few places so they can pocket it into their own savings,” Cisco chimes in.

“Cisco,” Iris says, “you and I should track down the mic guy. I think if we can get him to talk, we’d have a pretty good shot of figuring out where to find Armek.”

Barry stills. “Wai-”

“Bear, it’s okay. Cisco and I should do this. He has the most knowledge when it comes to technology stuff and I can interview him while sending in the feed to Linda. The more people we take, the worse off it’ll be.”

Linda nods her head in agreement. “Barry and I can listen in from home. And the minute we sense any danger, Barry can come and rescue you two. That way we’ll have eyes and ears both inside and outside.”

Barry looks displeased with the plan, but knows it’s their best shot, so once again, he begrudgingly nods his head. He hated when Iris went off investigating dangerous situations without him. He knew the necessity and knew her capability, but it still worried him.

Regardless, he was understanding of it. So in the blink of an eye, he takes Linda back home, along with the equipment she would need to set up the live stream and runs Iris and Cisco to the shop.

Before he lets go of Iris, he pulls her in for a hug, kissing the top of her head. “Keep me close,” he whispers into her hair.

Iris stands on her toes to give him a lingering kiss. “Always.”

She takes a few moments to compose herself once Barry leaves before turning to face the shop. “So how do we tackle this?” Cisco asks.

“We go in and threaten his ass and force him to comply,” Iris answers without missing a beat, eyes fixed on something inside.

He stares at her. “Shouldn’t we be a little nicer? You know, at least make sure he’s involved?” “Cisco. Look.”

Iris points to the guy standing behind the counter and Cisco follows her gaze, as they both watch him count what appeared to be stacks and stacks of hundred-dollar bills and stuff them into his pocket. 

“No offense,” Iris continues, still watching the guy grin at his luck, “but no matter how good his products are, there’s no way he has that much bank. On a Sunday morning of all days.”

“Okay. I’m convinced.” 

“So follow my lead?” Iris asks, turning to Cisco. “Of course.”

She checks for her gun to make sure it was still in place, tucked safely at her side. She then feels Cisco’s hand on her shoulder, as a careful reminder to not get too carried away too quickly. So she takes another breath before pushing open the glass door. 

The guy clearly seems shocked by their entrance, as he scrambles to shove the money beneath the counter.

“Save it,” Cisco smirks. “Excuse me?”

“Who do you work for?” Iris asks, making her way over to the counter, one hand steady on her phone, the other on her gun.

“I own this place,” the guy defends, “and you two are intruding on private property!” Cisco stares at Iris, just about rolling his eyes.

_So not that bright,_ he thinks.

“Bro, this is a shop. You have an open sign. We’re allowed inside.”

The guy suddenly stops shuffling the money behind his counter, but Iris doesn’t miss the way his hands move to reach for something else. So without wasting another second, she pulls out her gun, aiming it straight for his head. 

“Make one move and you will die.” The guy freezes in place.

Cisco makes his way around the counter, his own gun out and pointed at the guy. “I believe my friend asked you and you didn’t answer. So I’ll give you another chance.

Who do you work for?” 

The guy backs away, eyes racing back and forth between Iris and Cisco. He slowly raises both hands in the air, money long-forgotten, fear manifesting itself on his face.

“I didn’t have anything to do with it! I just make what they need!”

“That doesn’t answer the question,” Iris shouts, stepping closer, close enough to make out the sweat on his forehead.

“Armek! I don’t know if it’s his real name of his first name or last name. That’s just what he tells me to call him.”

“What does Armek do?” Cisco asks, now stopping in place, admiring the collection of phones this dude had hidden behind the counter.

“I don’t know!”

“Don’t play,” Iris adds.

“I swear I’m not!” he squirms, now frantic with his motions, “all I know is he loves chemistry! Like hardcore. He knows all about the chemical composition of what these gadgets are made of. And sometimes he walks in with goggles and a lab coat on and smells like fire. But I don’t know anything else!” 

Cisco nods his head before glancing over to Iris. Both were about ready to call for Barry, but had a few questions left. 

“Is Armek working for the mayor?” Iris asks, now in interrogation mode.

The guy shakes his head, sweat now dripping down his forehead profusely. If she had any sense of sympathy for him, she’d feel a little bad, given the guy seemed to be apart of something much too big for him. But then she remembers that Linda was blackmailed and all compassion gets tossed out the window.

“I think so, yeah.” 

“Think?” Cisco raises an eyebrow.

“He’s mentioned the election a few times. I think he’s the one who’s gonna run to replace the current mayor.”

Iris creeps closer, now inches away from the counter. “Do you know where he lives?”

“No! I don’t! He just visits when he needs something; I don’t know anything else about him!” 

“You’re gonna have to do better than that,” Cisco snickers, “you can’t expect us to believe that in all the time you’ve been working with him, you don’t have an address.”

“I’m telling the truth! Your best bet is to ask the mayor, not me!” 

“And what makes you so sure the mayor will admit to all of this?” Iris asks.

“Look I don’t know, I don’t know,” the guy shakes, “all I know is they work together and that’s it! I literally just do what they tell me and keep my mouth shut.”

“Until you get paid,” Cisco adds.

With that he turns to Iris who understands the gesture, immediately whispering _Barry_ into the air.

In the next minute, they see lightning, followed by the rush of the wind and before they know it, they’re all back in Iris’s apartment.

* * *

 

“You can come over to my place,” Cisco offers excitedly, which earns him a sharp look from Iris. “No no! Not like that! I just mean, if she needs a place to stay and doesn’t wanna go home.”

“Uh huh,” Iris comments and this time, Linda rolls her eyes at the reporter. “You’re ridiculous.”

Iris laughs. “You can sleep over with us Lin.” She pauses before adding, “...or with Cisco...you know, up to you.”

Cisco smirks and Linda shakes her head and in the background they hear Barry let out the laugh they’d all been holding in. They let a few seconds go by, trying to regain their composure. Given the events of the day, this seemed fitting...just them, hanging out, carefree and without the worries of what was looking like a massive conspiracy operation. Especially since the mic guy was locked away in a jail cell in STAR Labs and the gang was one step closer to closing in on exactly what Armek was after. 

Linda’s the first to recover. “I think I’ll stay with Cisco,” she says, looking at Iris and Barry, “I’ve had enough of you two today.”

Iris’s eyes light up and she glares at Cisco, offers him one of her telling looks before shifting her eyes back to her best friend. “We’ll come see you two first thing tomorrow.”

“Yeah,” Barry says, coming to stand next to Iris, “since we’re basically certain of the mayor’s involvement now, I think we have enough to get him talking.”

“Noted,” Linda smiles.

“Want me to take you two home?” Barry questions.

Linda shakes her head, glancing over at Cisco. “The weather’s nice outside. A walk seems like a good idea. Plus it's not too far.”

“True,” Cisco adds, “and we can get ice cream on the way!”

Iris laughs, coming over to hug them both and her and Barry bid them farewell.

As soon as they leave, Iris finds herself pushed up against the door as Barry immediately pulls her in for a kiss fast and unexpected, and she crashes into him, feeling his lips eager on hers. 

He missed her. 

She missed him too.

So she kisses him back feverently, sneaking her arms around his neck, pulling him down close to her body. Barry doesn’t play her game though, quickly wrapping her tight and lifting her up; her legs come to wrap around his waist and he slowly walks both of them to bedroom, peppering erratic, wet kisses to her neck in the process.

Once next to her bed, he pulls apart only momentarily, watches her eyes dazily open, like he forced her awake from a _really_ good dream.

Iris gives him a shy smile, but her roaming hands contradict the shyness on her face, as she tightens her legs around him, kicks off her shoes, and lets her fingers play with his hair.

But before they get the chance to sink into bed, Barry hears thundering pounds on the door, followed by the screams of his name.

“That’s Cisco!” Iris pants, unwrapping her legs immediately and adjusting her dress, all the passion and heat dimming down.

She bolts out of the room and Barry follows closely behind as they reach the door in record time.

But the moment they open it, they see Cisco with panic in his eyes, expression angry, frantic and confused.

“She’s gone! Linda’s gone!”


	4. Chapter 4

Barry races through the city five times, checking every single neighborhood, every alleyway, every park, every shop, every place he could think of. 

According to Cisco, they hadn’t yet left the apartment building for more than a few seconds before she was gone. One moment she was there and the next she wasn’t.

Iris asked if he remembered what happened, but Cisco was too panicked and too worried. He remembered shutting the door behind him, turning around because his jacket got stuck on the handle. After playing with it for a few seconds, he managed to free himself, but when he turned back around, Linda was nowhere in sight. 

So Iris stayed with him and Barry left, retraced every step they had taken, circled the city, and still, no luck. Well, maybe some luck. But he wasn’t sure yet.

And now, he came back home to find Cisco and Iris still visibly shaken up, both sitting on the couch. Cisco had tears in his eyes. Iris had vengeance. 

“Hey,” Barry says, coming inside. 

“Any luck?” Cisco asks, but the tone of his voice indicated he wasn’t expecting much.

Barry shakes his head with resignation and plummets down on the chair across from them. “I looked everywhere. I don’t know how whoever took her got so far.”

He notices Iris still doesn’t look up to face him. So he shifts his head towards her and asks, “you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Iris answers sharply, “but we need to go. We need to go see the mayor.” “Iris it’s Sunday. No one’s in their office today.”

“Okay so what then? We sit around while Linda gets hurt?” she yells, coming to a stand. “Barry she’s my best friend! I have everything to do with this! Everything to do with breaking the story and getting her involved. We need to find her!” 

“I know I know,” he stands, walking over to her, “but wh-” 

“No,” she cuts him off, “we can go check the offices. If we don’t find him, we go to his house. I don’t care. We’re getting her back today.” 

He wants to say so many things. Wants to tell her that he already went to the mayor’s office and checked. Wants to tell her that he didn’t find him. Wants to tell her that he went back to the shop and noticed someone had locked the door and when he phased inside, it had all but been cleared out. Wants to just take a quick breather before doing something to get them hurt. But the fear and anger in her eyes told him otherwise. 

He knew how Iris got when someone she loved was in trouble. When her dad was taken, there wasn’t enough reassurance that could calm her. When Eddie was taken, it was the same thing. But she listened to him. If anything, she listened to him. Even if only a little, he knew he could break through to her. 

So he stands right in front of her and cups her cheeks, mimicking an action he’s done so many times before. He almost leans down to kiss her, but with Cisco there and Linda gone, it seemed too disrespectful, so instead, he rubs his fingers gently across back and forth and presses his body against her. 

“Okay,” he whispers, “I think I have an idea of where they are. But it’s only a guess.”

“Where?” she asks promptly, and he notices her eyes fogging, notices how she leans into him for support just a little, like her own legs won’t support her weight.

“I think I know where too,” Cisco says, shifting their attention back to him. 

Cisco takes in a deep breath, and Barry’s heart breaks for him, not realizing that Linda was literally taken from his arms until now and how much that must’ve hurt.

He continues. “When Iris and I were at the shop, I noticed another shed-like thing not too far off in the background. Maybe a mile out. It was in the opposite direction of the shop.”

Barry drops his hands from Iris’s face and both walk over to Cisco, sitting on both sides of him. “I thought I saw a weird shape walking out of it, but I doubted it; thought maybe my eyes were

playing tricks on me. And then you left and Iris pulled me back to pay attention to the dude inside, so I lost my focus on that.” “Oh no,” Iris sighs.

“It’s a long stretch,” Cisco looks at her, “and if she is there and if that’s where they’re all at, then they already have a heads up on us. So it’ll be dangerous -”

Before he can finish, Barry flashes out and the room falls silent for about 20 seconds, before he comes back. 

“- you’re right,” Barry pants, coming back to the living room, “people are definitely there.”

* * *

 

“Go to hell,” Linda spits out, venom in her words, but the rope is too tight around her hands and she can barely feel her feet from how pressed they are against the metal chair.

The dark room makes her quiver. It was too _black_ ; it lacked light, not just color wise, but mood wise. Like the entire place was drained of anything good.

It was too cold. 

But she wasn’t sure if that was the temperature or the feeling.

All she remembered was being knocked out. And then waking up to a cold room with strangers she didn’t recognize.

Except for one. 

The one currently talking to her.

“Oh come on Linda,” he smiles, “I thought we were friends.”

She’s more creeped out by that than anything, resists the urge to push off the chair, already trying that too many times and failing in all of them. 

She believes they’ll find her. They have to find her.

“I see you don’t agree?” he probes.

“You’re a low-level asshole who’s been blackmailing me, lying to CCPN, and stealing sensitive material that you’re not entitled to,” she says through clenched teeth, “that’s some sadistic definition of ‘friends’ you have.” 

“You can’t blame me. Really, Iris is the only one to blame.” 

“Leave her out of this!” Linda all but yells, jumping off the chair only to be held back by the restraints.

“Why should I?” he asks, coming way too close to her face, enough to where she can feel his breath on her cheek and she wants to back away, wants nothing to do with _any_ of this. 

But she doesn’t back away. She doesn’t move.

She locks eyes with him.

And she speaks, not knowing how the words were coming out, not knowing where this newfound strength was coming from, not knowing how she was still breathing just right, but she keeps replaying Iris’s _it’s_ _okay_ s over and over in her brain, and keeps her breathing steady and remembers the touch of her best friend’s hand on her back, and clings onto that memory because she wants to be anywhere but here, but she was here and he wasn’t gonna get the best of her. Not this time. 

“You have no reason to do any of this." 

“Ahh. But I do,” he replies, jolting her chair before stepping back to pace in front of her.

“You see,” he continues, “your friend couldn’t keep her mouth shut. Just had to blow the fuse on the river. And in the process, she inadvertently almost brought down my entire operation. And we can’t have that happen, can we?”

_Rhetorical question, really?_ she thinks, but doesn’t say a word. “And her hero sidekick hasn’t made it much easier.”

“They have nothing to do with it,” Linda fights back, “do what you want to me. But leave them out of this. They’re good people set out to protect this city. You’re the evil one.”

He stands straight up, his 6’5 figure towering over her own, especially in the chair. But she doesn’t flinch. Doesn’t let the fear she feels manifest in her eyes.

“You make it sound like I’m out to kill them,” his voice booms, “I just want to reach an agreement.”

* * *

 

“Okay I can hear you both.” 

Cisco’s voice comes through to both Iris and Barry through their respective ear pieces. Barry had run him back to STAR Labs only to take Iris and come back to the - what appeared to be - abandoned warehouse complex he’d scanned by in his earlier search.

“We can hear you,” Iris replies and she sees Barry give a small nod in approval.

“Good,” Cisco’s voice plays in their ear, “I have a map of the entire complex. Based on what I can tell, there are two empty rooms, one on the east side and one on the west side, that they could be in. But I don’t know how the echo is, so Barry if you run to check, you’ll set them off.” 

“We should break apart,” Iris answers promptly, already detailing a plan in her head. Barry shakes his head.

“Barry,” she says, reaching out for his hands, “we need to cover as much ground as possible. If this guy’s a chemist and he was able to take Linda without her making a single sound, then he knows exactly what to use to get his way.

The longer we stall, the more likely she gets hurt.”

Barry stares into her eyes, searching for answers other than the ones she just told him. He doesn’t want to do this. Doesn’t want to leave her. At least if they’re together, he can always save her.

When they’re not, he might be too late. And he can’t risk being _too_ late.

But her voice distracts him again. “It’s the best option we have.”

And so he pulls her tight because he can’t help it. Because there’s too much at stake now and he wants nothing more than to get her safely home and suffer whatever consequences it takes to save Linda.

But they were in this together. Which meant they were doing this together.

“Okay,” he breathes into her hair, wrapping her up as close as he could, “we’ll split up.”

Iris feels his heartbeat quicken; she does her best to soothe his worries, does her best to make him feel like things would work out okay, though she was scared out of her mind they wouldn’t.

But she would risk it for Linda.

“Barry,” Iris says, pulling back just enough to caress her hand along his cheek, “I have my gun. You have your speed. We have Cisco. We’ll be okay.” 

“Y’all have to be extra quiet when you check for noise in the rooms. And if you hear something, step a ways away before signaling. That way no one’s tipped off,” Cisco says.

They both nod silently, eyes still locked on each other. 

She thinks _I love you_ isn’t enough for this situation, even though it’s all she has time for.

But he seems to think the same, leaning down to kiss her tenderly and she can just about taste the salt on her lips.

“We’ll be okay,” Iris says once they break apart.

“We will be,” he breathes, “you take east room. I’ll take the west. And we’ll be okay.”

She leans up to kiss him one last time. She can’t imagine not seeing him again, knows in her heart she will. But just in case, she finally whispers those three words against his lips and he sucks on her bottom lip a little longer in response, pulls her close and trails his fingers through her hair,saying it back as steadily as he can muster. 

* * *

 

Linda closes her eyes and focuses on the paced ticking of the clock that was somewhere in the room, where exactly, she couldn’t quite pinpoint.

She thinks back to every psychiatric session she had. Thinks back to the breathing exercises she’s practiced. Thinks back to the coping mechanisms she learned after what happened with Zoom.

Reminds herself that she’s okay, that she’s gonna be okay, that he’s nothing more than a conniving sociopath who wouldn’t get his way.

But damn was his voice too loud. And how she wished for it to stop. 

“All I want,” he keeps speaking like he had all the time in the world, “is for CCPN to stop reporting on the election and tarnishing the mayor’s image. And for The Flash to stop shoving his nose where it doesn’t belong.” 

Linda laughs, ironically enough.

“You mean you want the news to give you a free pass to run in the mayor’s place without the negative bias and you want The Flash to stop helping the hundreds of people that depend on this water source as their own.” 

He smirks. “I like my explanation better.” “Spoken like a real politician.”

He walks towards her, coming to stand inches away from her body. She notices the two guards next to the door flinch at the movement out of the corner of her eyes. But they stay in place.

“I’m surprised you haven’t asked me what my story is,” he says. She only shakes her head.

“I cover sports. I don’t care about personal vendettas.”

“Ahh,” he answers, “but aren’t you curious why I targeted you instead of her?” Linda stills.

He gets closer. 

“She’s the name. But you’re the face Linda” -

And she wishes she could take her name back from his mouth; it almost felt _dirtier_ just by hearing him say it.

\- “The Flash can protect her. You on the other hand, you’re just a friend and nothing more. Just like you and I are friends.” 

He grins and she smells something in the background, a scent that hadn’t been there a moment before that makes her sick to her stomach, like it’s caustic and acerbic. And all her senses are on alert because she’s knows how he can get, knows just from the few weeks of working with him how everything is always planned and how he takes notice of every little detail.

“And,” he continues, circling around her chair to go fetch something, “sometimes using the weakest link is the easiest way to get who you need.”

 

* * *

 

Iris keeps her back to the wall and her eyes stay scanning the surroundings. She feels the cold surface press against her back, as uneven ridges dig into various parts of her body, but she can’t focus on the pain of that. Not when she spots the door a few feet ahead.

“Iris,” Cisco says, “a few more steps and you’ll be there. Do you hear anything?” 

And that’s when she takes one more step and puts her ear to the wall, and she can almost make out whispers, but she’s not sure if that’s the fuzz from the earpiece or her mind playing tricks on her. But before she can figure it out, she feels a strong hand grip her arm and pull her to the ground.

She drops hard, her body hitting the cold dirt and she realizes her gun had fallen out of its holster from the force of the tug. 

She hears footsteps coming towards her. She hears Cisco’s voice whisper _are you okay_ but saying anything would be too much of a give away. So she spins around off her stomach and to her back and she can make out a tall, strong figure standing over her, his hand rapidly approaching her torso, which is when the kicks him right in the crotch and watches his whole body tumble backwards. 

Iris hurriedly stands back up, whispers _found them_ to Cisco before searching the ground for her gun, but a noise distracts her, this time the opening of the door.

She runs back to the wall, presses her body tightly against it and the minute she makes out a second guy, she spins and dropkicks him, aiming right for his neck, and she watches him plummet straight down as well.

_B_ _arry should be here,_ she thinks to herself. _Surely he heard her say she found them._

The two men lay restless on the ground and the door from where the second one came out stays open. Iris hears a voice and she hopes this time she has it right, that that was indeed Linda calling out, and with another scream from inside, she’s about ready to pounce.

“IRIS!” Cisco shouts into the earpiece.

“What?” she breathes, still searching for the gun which she spots resting on the far edge of the wall, so she runs over to grab it.

“If Linda and him are inside, you can’t go in alone!” “Where the hell is Barry?” she hisses.

“I don’t know, but he’s not answering.” 

And she lets out a sigh, mind going to the worst possible scenario. But she’ll have to worry about that later, knowing that her cover’s been blown, knowing that someone was waiting for her on the other side of the door, knowing that wherever Barry was, he was okay - hoping that he was okay because he _had_ to be okay.

“Cisco I have no choice. I have to go in.” “You don’t know what’s on the other side!”

“I have _no_ choice!” she repeats, already determined to make the next move.

* * *

 

Armek watches the security guard step outside, and almost immediately after hears a _thud_.

“Your friend’s good,” he laughs, holding the flask of hydrofluoric acid in his hand, careful not to spill any on the glove he had on.

Linda doesn’t know whether that was intended for her. She still doesn’t know where his is behind her. And she definitely can’t get his words out of her head, the phrase _weakest link_ replaying too many times for her liking.

He had no basis of that. If he wanted The Flash, he would get The Flash. But not because she was the weakest. Because she was his partner, because Iris was her partner, because she wasn’t weak and she was about ready to give this guy a piece of her mind.

But she holds her tongue and watches the door. Iris was on the other side, that she knew. 

“Linda.” he says again, this time cupping her cheek from behind and the way the black glove touches her skin makes her tilt her head to the other side, but he locks her in place. “No use in moving. The more you fight it, the more likely my hand is to slip.”


	5. Chapter 5

“I’d be cautious of that.”

Iris takes a breath as she examines the room around her, the way it was almost too small to fit the three of them, the way there were no windows, the way there was what appeared to be another door on the backside, the way it looked too dark and felt too cold, like it was somehow lifeless.

Really, she tried to avoid looking at Linda though, because that sight would break her heart. But she put her own feelings aside and looked at her best friend, only to see the adamant intensity in her irises, the way her pupils dilated a little too big, the way she was almost shaking… 

But Iris didn’t think Linda was shaking out of fear. More like she was shaking out of anger. Out of spite. And she couldn’t blame her for that.

“You’ve got some nerve,” Iris responds, finally bringing her eyes to meet Armek’s. “And you don’t?”

She keeps the gun pointed at him, though can’t help but notice the flask in his hand, along with the accompanying acidic scent in the room. 

“I’d say we have different kinds of nerves. It’s one thing to sabotage the well-being of an entire city for personal gain. It’s another thing to track you down.” 

“I haven’t made it particularly difficult to find me though, have I?” he says with a grin, the flask moving to its side just a little.

Iris grips the gun tighter.

She wishes Cisco would find Barry somehow. Wishes he were here to help her. “Iris,” Armek says, drawing her attention again, “I’d put that down if I were you.” “Not a chance.”

“See,” he laughs, “you don’t have much of a choice. Not when one drop of this” - he gestures to the flask with his eyes - “will burn like hell if it gets on her skin.”

Iris curses under her breath and through the ear piece she hears Cisco say _if_ _it’s_ _a chemical, put the gun down._ And she knows it’s her only option, given she can’t physically get to them, Linda can’t move and Barry’s nowhere in sight. So reluctantly, she lowers her hand to the ground, a look of frustration and spite drawing on her face.

This guy made her skin tingle.

“Better,” he smirks, “now we can have a conversation in peace.”

She groans. “Why are you doing this?”

Armek looks down at Linda, the smile still plastered on his face. “See unlike you, your friend has manners,” he tells her, and Linda locks eyes with Iris, the fear now manifesting in her eyes.

“You see,” he continues, shifting his eyes to Iris, “I was well renowned at a point of time. People respected me. They looked at me with awe and reverence. I was on path to win the next Nobel Prize.”

“You seem to make a better chemist than you do a person,” Iris answers.

“Ahh, I wouldn’t go that far. Though I was the best chemist there was for a while. I’m sure Barry knows all about me.” 

And that’s when her eyes go wide. So this was his game.

“Didn’t think I knew?” he says, a newfound glisten in his eyes. Linda’s head drops with resignation. But Iris doesn’t move.

“Anyway, back in Coast City, the mayor wanted my help. Wanted me to find a new cost-efficient way to clean the pollution in the city, thereby reducing cost and upping benefits. And I did.”

“But your greed got the best of you,” Iris says through clenched teeth, “and you got caught. And now, here you are again.” 

“Were you always this cynical?”

She shakes her head. “People like you don’t give me much to look forward to.” “Not even with my genius?”

“Your genius? What genius? Look at you Armek. You’re doing the same shit you did before, except now you’re holding a journalist hostage, running a rogue campaign, and threatening this city’s safety. There is no genius in that. 

There’s only personal benefit. And lack of compassion. And low self-esteem.” “Sounds like you have me all figured out Iris West.”

She knows it’s bait, what he’s doing. But she doesn’t have any options. So she gladly takes it. “I’m listening.”

And much to her surprise, he lowers the flask just a tad, to where the rim of it wasn’t touching Linda’s cheek. Still he stays close by. 

“I got blamed for something that wasn’t my fault. I took the fall. Even though I was only seeking to help, not to hurt. Yet I had to move cities, change names, start a new life and new career for myself because people like you and Linda got the wrong man. I had to give up all aspirations of my passions, of my goals and dreams because I was caught up in someone else’s mess. 

Tell me Miss West, how is that fair?”

“How what is fair?” she responds, throwing the question back at him, “how you denied fundamental safety to an entire population of people whose government is supposed to protect them? How the Coast City mayor got away with everything even after the story broke, even after everyone knew he was shuffling money into his own pocket and to the pockets of people like you? Money that he could’ve used ensuring public safety? Ensuring that kids weren’t dying from toxicity and poison that was in their water and in their air?

And yet you still have some audacity to ask me how this was fair _to you_?”

She unclenches her teeth, feels her jaw loosen, the tension coming undone. “How was it fair to them? And how is it fair now to the people of Central City? When we live in fear that people like you and the politicians you work with don’t have an ode to anyone but themselves. 

They steal. And lie. And cheat. And people can’t put their faith in those purposely elected to protect them! 

Tell me how _that’s_ fair!”

He starts to say something, but she cuts him off, not done yet, not satisfied yet.

“Reporters like Linda and me have a duty to ensure transparency; to hold those accountable for their actions; to report; to seek information; to keep liable people who take advantage of loopholes and backdoors and shortcuts. 

That’s our job. That’s what we do. There is no apology in that. There’s no apology for a job as demanding as this that gets berated and censured by people like you who want an open path to fraud and corruption.” 

“Iris, breathe,” she hears Cisco’s voice through the earpiece, “you can’t make him angry.” 

And she wants to not care about that, but she forces her eyes to look away from him and back to Linda, who has the same menace that Iris herself has.

But just before she could wish Barry was there again, she feels a gush of wind, simultaneously hears shattering of glass as the room lights up with a streak of red and when she can see properly again, Armek’s gone and Linda’s free.

 Iris exhales sharply and runs over to Linda, kneels down in front of her and pulls her into her arms.

Linda shakes, but she holds on tightly, like she’s holding on for dear life. “Iris!” Cisco yells, “are you okay?”

“Fine,” she responds, voice muffled but hints of relief in its prosody, “I think Barry finally found his way.”

* * *

 

“Did you really have to ruin the suit?” Cisco asks, obviously annoyed. “Are you kidding me?” Barry says, shooting the engineer a look.

“Listen. All I’m saying is you could’ve saved the day _without_ getting the acid on the suit okay? Now I gotta patch it up again.”

Iris stops tending to the scar on Linda’s cheek to give her boys a good look, laughter coming naturally now in light of everyone getting locked away.

As Barry had explained, he found the mayor, along with stacks of money in the other room and damming evidence they’d been trying to hide, but there were a few too many security guards for him to get out of their as quickly as he liked. And his earpiece fell off from an unexpected blow to the side of his face. But he managed.

Barry always managed to find his way back.

“Linda are you okay?” Barry walks over to them, now in regular clothes, leaving Cisco’s fussing about the suit alone for the time being.

“I’m okay,” she smiles, “you have quite the girlfriend you know.”

Iris shakes her head and gently bandages the open wound, before stepping back. “You held your own Lin. I’m proud of you.” 

“I’m proud of both of you,” Barry says, pulling Iris into his body to place a kiss to her temple, while keeping his green eyes on Linda.

“Okay you two are way way way too cute to handle.” 

“They are. Try being with them all the time,” Cisco shouts, “at least you get breaks from Barry.” “Cisco I said I’m sorry about the suit!” the CSI yells back but Cisco doesn’t buy it.

“You know what,” Iris interrupts their banter, pulling Barry back to her, “I think we all need ice cream in celebration. Cisco you can patch it up some other time.”

She’s met with a scoff, but Linda and Barry just laugh at his antics.

Plus it’s not like there was a gaping hole in the suit. It was just a little ripped from. And it’d give him something to do in his free time now.

 

* * *

 

They finished their ice cream date with Linda and Cisco, but Barry noticed that Iris had gotten uncharacteristically quiet during it.

He didn’t want to probe and didn’t want to interrupt her time with Linda, but something about her felt off, and he couldn’t quite put a finger on it.

That’s until they finally made it home again and she all but jumped into his arms, held him so tight that he almost couldn’t breath, and when he tried to get her to talk, she didn’t. Only kissed him hard, let her hands creep underneath his shirt, and led him to bed. 

And here they were, the glow of the clock reading 1 a.m. They both had work tomorrow, though Barry was pretty sure both CCPD and CCPN would be more than understanding if they got in pretty late. But he was also sure Iris would want to do a write up on everything that transpired, especially to make sure Barry’s identity didn’t somehow get leaked.

Still, with her dark brown eyes staring at his and with her hand cupping his face, gently rubbing her finger along his cheek, and with both of them lying in bed, facing each other, he hoped that they’d be able to spend just a little bit of tomorrow together.

Their Saturday got cut short, afterall.

When he notices a tear in the corner of her eye, he decides he can’t take the silence anymore. So he leans in to kiss her softly, pulling away just enough to where he could see her again.

“Can we talk about it?” he asks.

 Iris sighs and turns her head into the pillow, but Barry doesn’t allow it.

“You can’t do that again.” He whispers, sitting up in bed and pulling her up with him, so that she was straddling his lap. She didn’t put much effort into resisting, and he took that as a good sign. “Iris, did I do something wrong?” 

She shakes her head. 

“Then what is it? What’s been going on?”

She drops her head to his shoulder and he feels her body still against his. But he also feels her breath shallow and heavy, like she was struggling to find words or like the exhaustion had caught up to her or that she didn’t know where to start. 

So he rubs her back calmingly, gives her a little more time as he peppers kisses to her shoulder.

“I’m sorry,” she sighs into his neck.

“It’s okay.” 

“I got scared.” 

He pulls her back with both hands on her waist, so that he can see her. “Of what?” “Of losing you.”

His shoulders slouch, feels his whole body deflate. 

“You took so long and I didn’t think I could stall him; didn’t know if I’d be able to handle it alone….didn’t know if you got hurt or if something happened to you.

 Barry, I need you.”

He becomes keenly aware of the way she’s breathing and of the way his breathing matches hers, of the way their bodies move together. And he notices how her hands tenderly move along his back, dipping up to play with his neck before resting back down again. 

“I didn’t know how it was possible to love someone so much,” she shakes, “but I do. I love you with all of me. And that scares me sometimes. Even though I don’t want for it to.” 

“I love you too,” he smiles, says it so simply and easily, like it’s the most natural thing to come out of his mouth. 

She smiles back and for the first time all weekend, he can see the glisten in her eyes, and the way they light up their entire bedroom. So he leans in to kiss her, all soft and sweet and warm and he feels her breathe into his lips and feels her nibble gently on his bottom one.

He lays down and pulls her on top of him, keeps his hands steady on her back.

She pulls up for air, brushes back the hair on his forehead, peppers kisses in the places they were.

“I’ll always come back to you,” Barry says, playfulness still in his eyes.

“I know you will..”

“But you’re still worried?”

She shifts off him to lay next to his side, her arms come to wrap around his torso. He places a kiss to the top of her head and holds her close, listens to the beating of her heart, lets her take her time to tell him.

“I don’t think I’ll ever not be worried. Not with how much I love you.”

“What can I do to help with that?” he asks sincerely.

He knew how she felt, he didn’t need her to vocalize it. Not when she showed him every morning and every night, with every hug and caress and kiss. And he knew it wasn’t easy for her, not when he was The Flash and the absence came with the job.

But Barry wanted so bad to still her worries, to make her feel safe, to remind her that he’d come back to her no matter what. So he asks her again, “what can I do?” with determination to do whatever she said. 

Iris wraps him tight and meets his eyes. 

“Just kiss me goodbye before you leave,” she breathes, holding back the tears, “and kiss me hello when you come back.” 

Barry nods his head, whispers a quiet “okay” before leaning into her to do just that.


End file.
